Building the Future of AI with Purpose and Vision
Where technology converges with humanity, the world is remolded. There are few leaders who reflect this reality as effortlessly as Rakshith Halevoor Prabhachand, the international AI product leader who, from India to innovation leadership at PayPal, Amazon, and IBM, has an unprecedented story. With more than 13 years of experience at the point of intersection between innovation and impact, Rakshith is rewriting the rules of how billions engage with technology.
“Success for me is not in titles or in profits, but in the number of lives we touch and opportunities we create,” he muses, a maxim that has driven his career and mentorship of more than a hundred up-and-coming product leaders worldwide.
Rakshith’s journey is an example of resilience and flexibility. Having done his bachelor’s in Computer Science, he joined HPE and Cisco as an engineer and developed enterprise cloud and infrastructure solutions. However, his visions went beyond those limits, he was interested in shaping strategy too, not just technology. This took him into product management, which was then a senior-only position. By defying convention, he paved an unusual yet motivating journey.
At Hitachi and Qualcomm, he scaled IoT and data platforms to multimillion-dollar businesses. His entrepreneurial zeal then took him to IBM, where he led Edge AI platforms that revolutionized sectors globally. At Amazon, his canvas extended as he scaled Ads and grocery AI portfolios that reached billions. Now, at PayPal, he heads AI personalization and smart commerce, revolutionizing how millions shop and interact digitally.
Every step of his journey represents a commitment to marry innovation with compassion. “Technology, when humanized, can unlock opportunities for billions,” he writes. “That belief has been my guiding light.”
What binds Rakshith’s varied portfolio is his enthusiasm for building technology that is human-like, trustworthy, and progressive. Whether constructing personalization engines at PayPal, scaling Ads and groceries at Amazon, or advancing IoT and Edge AI platforms at IBM, his constant has been innovation with purpose.
He stresses, “I feel technology not only needs to drive businesses but also make lives better. The onus is on making sure each innovation is rooted in trust and built for effect.”
Being an author who has published in several international publications and a speaker on international platforms such as TechX IoT Expo, MWC Barcelona, and IBM Think, Rakshith has always been an advocate of equilibrium between technological progress and ethical accountability.
“My biggest strength is seeing bold possibilities and making them happen through strategy, teamwork, and grit,” he says. This capability to capture sophisticated innovations and turn them into something meaningful has characterized his leadership experience.
Yet he is equally candid about his challenges. “I tend to immerse myself too deeply in details. While it ensures precision, it can slow decision-making. Over time, I’ve learned to balance precision with empowerment, trusting my teams and turning it into a shared growth opportunity.”
This humility not only strengthens his leadership but also inspires those he mentors.
Rakshith’s leadership philosophy centers on empowerment and accountability. He believes leadership is not about authority but enabling others to thrive. By fostering collaboration, courageous thinking, and accountability, he builds resilient, high-performing teams. His style balances execution with empathy, proving leadership can be both human and results-driven.
Beyond professional success, Rakshith values family and relationships deeply. “Balance for me is not about perfection, but simply being where I am,” he shares. Grounded by a trusted advisor and rejuvenated through family time, travel, sports, and mentoring young professionals, he finds compassion and perspective that strengthen his journey.
As Rakshith continues to set new vistas in the realm of AI and technology, he remains strongly rooted in the values that have defined his journey, resilience, empathy, and a steadfast sense of purpose. His tale is not one of merely professional successes, but of the courage to defy convention, the vision to innovate responsibly, and the humility to raise others up along the way.
For Rakshith, greatness is not measured in awards but in the difference made. “Real success,” he explains, is not measured in what we’ve achieved, but in how many people we’ve enriched, what opportunities we’ve created, and what doors we’ve opened for others.
From the days of being an engineer to becoming the world’s voice on ethical AI, Rakshith Halevoor Prabhachand is the very essence of Passion Vista’s Most Admired Global Indians 2025, a visionary who thinks beyond horizons, lives with conviction, and motivates coming generations.
With vision as his guiding light and compassion as his forte, he is a beacon to those who believe in technology’s power of transformation and even more, in the transformative power of humanity. His message to readers is this: dream big, but anchor those dreams on purpose. Lead with empathy, act with resilience, and remember that success is most meaningful when it uplifts and inspires others. Embrace every challenge as a stepping stone. Greatness is not inherited; it is built choice by choice, action by action.
